Some eye-opening statistics about our food consumption

How much larger are the sodas we drink today than the ones from the 1950s? How much water does it take to make a quarter pound of ground beef? Find the answers to those questions and others with a little weekend reading.

There were a few pieces that caught my eye this week that all dealt with the statistics of our food consumption. They’ll make some interesting weekend reading.

Mother Jones has a timeline that explains how our sodas got supersized. From the original 7 oz. McDonald’s fountain drink in 1955 to the gallon jug 7-Eleven soda in 2006, our sodas have gotten bigger and bigger. But that trend might be ending.

A visual that gives the big picture of our meat habit is over on NPR. The amount of food, water, land and energy that are required to create just one-quarter pound of ground beef has an impact on the environment. It’s a good graphic argument for eating less meat.

Not all the news coming from NPR is a cause for concern, however. NPR also reports that many Americans are eating less red meat. Thirty-nine percent of adults surveyed said they eat less red meat than they did three years ago.